Save the date. Join us for a tour of artist Jose Ramirez’s abundant food forest in City Terrace. You must RSVP to participate. We will be organizing carpools. Email transitionculvercity@gmail.com to reserve a space. More details to follow.

This month its bike culture that’s ringing our bells.

When: Saturday February 7, 2015 7 pm – 9:30 pm

Where: Sivananda Yoga Center 13325 Beach Ave Marina Del Rey 90232

Its a snack-luck….bring a snack to share 🙂

Meet cyclist-activists and bike-walk-tavists who are changing LA from a crowded isolating car town to a bi-pedal and ped-friendly village . See eco-film shorts + panel + discussion and snack-luck.

You’ll meet Nona Varnado, founder of LA Bike Trains.

This org provides curated routes run by Conductors – experienced urban cyclists – to educate new riders, harness the safety of riding in a group and kicking it up a notch by making the ride a fun social experience. Plus it’s totally free! All you need to do is submit your email, cell phone number and the route that you’re interested in. If you don’t see a route that works for you – suggest one! http://labiketrains.com/

There’s a drought , you’ve heard about it, so what better time to lose the lawn and replace it with a more sustainable garden. Join us for planting fun and community. Learn how to get rid of your lawn the Transition way…with a party!

This homeowner’s yard has been sheet mulched, so we will be digging holes and planting California natives. Bring gloves, work shoes, shovel and/or trowel, hat. Lunch will be provided.

Why build a compost pile? Well, you can extend your efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle by composting: reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill; reuse newspapers, paper napkins, coffee filters and tea bags; recycle the endless stream of veggie waste.

Tina’s got a brand new bin. Let’s help her set it up. Learn how to choose a location for a compost pile. What goes into a bin? How to maintain it? We’ll put together a compost pile and then enjoy snacks and camaraderie and swap some stories.

Bring water bottle, gloves and a shovel (with your name on it), if you have them.

Transition Culver City and Art Lee, founder of Skillbulder meet-up group are offering a Greywater Installation workshop, where you’ll learn to install a laundry-to-landscape-according-to-code conversion.

As everyone knows, water is probably the most important resource for every living species on our planet. Instead of dumping your water back to the sewer system and into the ocean, learn how to double the usage of your water and grow your fruit trees and perennials! This also saves you money by reducing your water usage.

The class will cover all the information you need to install a system at your home, to L.A. County code specifications.

A little about our instructor, Art Lee…..On his Skillbuilders meet-up site, Art provides the following description of himself:

Imagine a parkway designed for beauty and functionality; one that’s a gateway to your property, a habitat for local plant and bird species, AND a sponge that holds and cleanses precious water before it returns to the ocean.

When new parkway regulations were first presented to Culver City council in May 2013, Transition Culver City members decided this would be a perfect time to re-imagine our parkways. We wondered how parkway regs could match what we had already observed in our neighborhoods – parkways that were more than places to curb ones car or dog. Instead, we saw gathering places, native plant sanctuaries, and zen-like gardens.

We interviewed experts in the field of sustainable landscape, to harvest their knowledge. With the assistance of Flowtown Films, we decided to grow a parkway video.

We would like to thank the people and organizations who were involved in the making of this film:

Sew-In: Celebrating the advent of the Plastic Bag Ban in Culver City

Where: Don Patacchia room next to the council chambers at Culver City Hall,

9770 Culver Blvd. Culver City 90230

Entrance to Free Parking on Duquesne Ave.

Many of you have .worked to ban plastic bags in the City of LA and Culver City. Here’s a chance to raise awareness about Culver City’s new plastic bag ban which takes effect Dec. 28, 2013.

The City of Culver City, with assistance from Transition Culver City and Our Time Bank/Repair Cafe, is hosting a Sew-In on Dec. 9, 5:30 – 8 pm in the Don Patacchia room next to the council chambers at CC City Hall.

We will be sewing cloth grocery bags and teaching how to sew your own. The fabric will be pre-cut and ready to assemble with instructions available… a very easy-to-make design.

Become a catalyst for a free neighborhood book exchange! Help build, paint, and install a Little Free Library Box to place in front of your own house or office or someone else’s. We’ll have some tools and experts on hand to help you with carpentry. We’ll be using recycled materials – bring some if you have them.

This event is a re-purposing and re-skilling workshop all-in-one! And its fun!

What is a Little Free Library? “Take a Book, Leave a Book.” It’s a box the size of a small cabinet that you can fill with books you are willing to share. Little Free Libraries create a welcoming space for friends and neighbors. When you place a Little Free Library at a community center, church, temple or even in the yard of your own home, it becomes a hub for sharing books and ideas…it can become a fun place to take tea with friends and have nourishing discussions.